The Charm Box
by Melody Hakurei-Song.EXE
Summary: Our favorite pair of twins decide to go snooping around Melody's room to find something interesting (this was mostly Netto's idea, though). Of course they gets caught, but could there be more to that box than what meets the eye? (EXExMultiple crossovers if continued)
1. Chapter 1 - Discovery

**A/N: Hey there! I got this idea just before going to bed, and I just had to get this down before I forgot. I'm not sure if I should continue it or not, but that's for the reader to decide. This takes place after _Friendship of the Oriental Sunflower,_ so if you haven't read that, I recommend you do so that you're acquainted with one of the characters in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my own characters.**

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The Charm Box

"Rockman…" Netto whined, sprawled out on his bed.

"Yes, Netto-kun?" the Navi replied.

"I'm bored," the brunette complained, dragging out the last word.

Rockman sighed. Netto was always like that, except for a few moments when the two were busy saving the world and whatnot.

"Well… did you finish your homework?" he started.

"Already done," Netto moaned.

Now that was odd. Usually Rockman would have to constantly remind and nag him before Netto finally bothered to do his assignments, or as he put it, "things a Net Savior shouldn't have to put up with."

"How about you visit Meiru-chan then?" the older Hikari continued.

"She has a piano lesson now."

"Dekao-kun?"

"With Chisao."

"Yaito-chan?"

"Out on a trip to who knows where."

"…Enzan?"

"Now why would I want to see him?!" Netto retorted as he sat up.

"I don't know, it was just an idea, and I'm all out of them now."

The brunette sighed and flopped back onto his bed. "What to do…" Suddenly, an idea struck him. "I know! Let's go into Melody-chan's room and see what we can find in there!"

"Netto-kun, are you sure that's a good idea?" Rockman inquired. "She's not going to like it if she finds you in there messing with her things… remember what happened to Dekao?"

"We'll be out of there before she comes home from the Science Labs then!" the boy replied, grabbing his PET as he burst out of the room.

"W-wait a minute, Netto-kun!" Rockman yelled from inside the device. "You really shouldn't-"

"Oh, lighten up Rockman!" Netto scolded as he fiddled with Melody's door handle. "She won't notice a thing!" Soon enough he realized the door was unlocked and it swung open. "Well, here we go," he said, and stepped inside, looking around.

The room, although somewhat plain due to her arrival just a week earlier, was quite cheery and already looked like she had settled in. Her suitcase was nowhere to be seen, probably stowed away in the closet. A sleek laptop was humming on the desk across the room, next to a tall bookcase filled to the brim with textbooks and manuals that would probably hurt if thrown at somebody out of anger. What caught Netto's eye though was a small box that was elaborately decorated with delicate swirls and cherry blossom designs.

"Ooh, this looks nice," he said. "Now that I think about it, she had this box out when we first met her and wouldn't let me open it. I wonder what's so important inside it she nearly threatened to pummel me?"

"Netto-kun, don't!" Rockman shouted frantically as Netto lifted the lid.

"…Netto Hikari, what the heck are you doing?" said a voice.

The boy froze, and then slowly turned around to see Melody standing in the doorway, arms crossed. She didn't look too pleased at the moment.

"You're busted. I told you so," the Navi muttered.

"Oh, you just shut up," Netto scowled. He stood up straight and faced Melody with a sweat drop on his forehead. "Eh-he, welcome back, Melody-chan", he stuttered. "I didn't see you there."

She raised an eyebrow and pointed at the box, still in his hand.

"O-Oh, this? U-Um, I was looking for where you keep your battle chips, uh…"

"I can assure you they won't be in there," Melody replied coldly. "Any other excuses you got?"

'_She's onto me,' _Netto thought.

"Might as well confess, Netto-kun", Rockman warned gently, "and you might save yourself from a lot of pain."

"Yeah yeah, I know," he shot back, then looked up into Melody's steely black-brown eyes and gulped.

"Well…?" she said.

"The truth is," Netto blurted, "I was just bored and I wanted to do something and I never really found out what you brought with you and that box you had looked really cool and I just wanted to know what was inside so don't hurt me, okay?"

A few seconds passed before Melody finally sighed. "If you wanted to know what was inside, why didn't you just ask me nicely? True, I had no intention of ever mentioning the box to you in the first place, but the secret would have come out no matter what."

"W-Wait, so does that mean I'm off the hook?" Netto said, surprised.

"Well, technically speaking, yes," she replied, "but don't leave yet." She walked over to her neatly folded bed and sat down. Patting the space on her right, she said, "Seeing how we both have nothing to do, if you want to know what's inside, now would be the time to sit down and listen."

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**What do you think? Should I continue this or not? Please Rate and/or Review!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Network Origin

**A/N: Well, I guess people really like this story, so here's Chapter 2! Wow, I can't believe how long it took me to get this down...Sorry for everyone who waited! ^_^' Stay for the end, cause I got something to announce!**

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Chapter 2 – Network Origin

Netto plopped down next to Melody and tried to feel comfortable. He still fidgeted though, partially out of excitement knowing that one of his questions about that box was about to be answered, and partially because he was still trying to figure out why he was let off the hook, when at the time Melody looked like she was going to do something terrible to him, be it kill him, take out every last game file on his computer and replace them with college level assignments, or something worse, so bad and dark he was glad he wasn't going to find out what.

"So, are you ready?" Melody asked. "You won't be sitting down for long." Netto wasn't too sure what that could mean, but he nodded anyway. "Well then, let's get started," she replied, and pressed one of the cherry blossoms on the box, revealing it to be a spring lock.

To both of the Hikaris' surprise, the box whirred to life, the lid popping off and the entire box expanding into a large door in the middle of the room, open by a mere crack. Melody stood up, swung the door wide open, and motioned for the two to follow. Behind the door was an enormous realm filled with even more large doors numerous in number, them smack dab in the middle of it all.

"Oh, wow…" Netto said in awe.

"Look closer," Melody encouraged. "What do you see?"

"Say, Netto-kun, have you looked at some of the designs for these?" Rockman said as he appeared on the boy's shoulder. "Strange…"

Indeed they were. The twins focused in on the three biggest doors, all containing some of the most complex and confusing designs out of all.

The first door was mainly blue, with a couple splashes of red in some places. Engraved on the door was several forms of binary coding that oddly enough Rockman didn't recognize most of them. There was a spring lock on the door, and there was a letter engraved in the center of the lock. The letter was an "R".

The second door was mostly red, and resembled a Shinto shrine gate. Small cards were tacked onto the pillars of the gate with various symbols on them, including a black-magic ritual circle, a doll, a sunflower, and a yin-yang circle. Netto assumed they were just Navi symbols, but Rockman had other ideas. The letter engraved on this door's lock was a "T".

The last door had an intimidating air about it. It looked like it was made out of solid gold, and had four main pictures engraved onto it. One was filled with Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics; the second depicted contradicting concepts: a light that brought destruction and darkness that brought salvation. A third contained an enormous crimson dragon done in the style reminiscent of the Aztecs and Incas; the last one, like the first, had writings on it, but the letters were unusual, as if the language was from another world. The letter on this doors lock was a "Y".

Melody's hand drifted towards the first door and pressed the letter, releasing the lock. "Wait here," she said, and slid the door out to a position where the twins couldn't see behind it. Netto did as he was told; he didn't want to land in hot water again. He did though, along with Rockman, listen in on some things Melody was saying to herself.

"Hmm…which ones should I show them? It needs to be interesting enough…no, not them, Netto would laugh at how girly he looks…I don't want to show these unless they ask, because they might not remember that time slip…You know what, I'm just going to show them these. It's a good starting point…and they'll learn a little bit about where I'm coming from." With that, she came out holding something in her palm tightly, cutting off Netto from asking Rockman what she meant by that last part.

"What is it?" Netto asked curiously.

"See for yourself," Melody replied, and opened her hand for them to see. What they saw surprised them.

"T-Those are the charms for your bracelet!" Netto said in shock.

"Not only that, look!" Rockman added.

There were three charms in her hand, shaped into medallions. Each contained a familiar Navi Symbol: a pink heart with a yellow background, a black and white circle separated by a jagged line, and a red circle separated by two black triangles connected by a similar-colored line diagonally.

"That's not all," Melody continued. "Watch this." She tilted her palm around, and the boys got glimpses of images within the circles.

"Hey, that's all of us!" Rockman realized.

"That's right," she replied. "Not many people know this, but I've been to a lot of places, many of them you've never even heard of. The charms you see on my bracelet represent the things I've seen and the people I've met. That way, they have memories of me and me of them." She smiled softly. "These three were the first ones I made."

"Really?" Netto and Rockman asked simultaneously, followed by the question "How?"

"Well, you see," she said, "I was bored. Now, where I'm from, I really shouldn't be, there's always something going on, good or bad. Yet I was. I had an urge to go out into the world, make new friends, and bring back home grand stories to tell. Then I found out about you guys, and I finally found something I could pursue that wasn't common back home: technology. With a little help from someone, I finally had my wish granted."

"I didn't try to find you all right away," Melody continued. "I knew I had to get used to my new surroundings. I studied hard, and on the side I took trips to other places. Before I left on my first side voyage, I made these charms to remind myself of my long-term goal, because I knew we would become such good friends. You know the rest of the story." She stopped suddenly and hung her head down. "…Sorry, shouldn't have gotten too deep…you wouldn't understand."

"Eh, what do you mean? Of course we do!" Netto said, putting his arm around her shoulder. Earlier, Melody had seemed like a nice but distant person, with a temper to match, cold and unmerciful. Now she just looked totally deflated and defeated. Both twins felt like it was their duty to try and bring her back onto her feet.

"That's right," Rockman added, "and don't worry. You're our friend now, we'll never back away from that fact."

"If anything else, you're an even closer one, now!" Netto grinned. "Anything you tell us we can handle!"

Melody raised up her head, revealing that she had been crying. "You guys…"she murmured.

"Oi, oi, don't get me wet," Netto chided. "You'll ruin my vest!"

With that, the moment passed. Melody smirked, and then shoved Netto away as hard as she could. He ended up landing on his bottom, getting an indignant "Hey!" from him before they all burst into laughter. As their laughter eventually died out, suddenly they heard someone calling them.

"Netto! Melody! Come downstairs, dinner's ready!"

"Hai, Mama!" The brunette shouted back as he got up. Melody helped him get to the exit, and as soon as they got to the threshold, the vast space they were in shrunk and returned to its original box form, the lid closing with a final click.

_'…We didn't imagine that, right?'_ the twins thought as Melody picked up the box, silent like before.

"I'm not going to call you again, get down here or your dinners will get cold!" Haruka continued, snapping Netto back into focus.

"EH? OH NO! Hold on food, I'm coming!" he cried, bolting out of the room at top speed. A thought came to him at the last minute though, so when he got to the door he hit the brakes and turned around. "Oh, and show me more of the charms later, ok Melody?"

"…Of course," Melody replied with a smile, setting down the box before walking out with him. "However, next time we'll do it a little bit differently. You know the 3 big doors you saw in the box realm?" He nodded, recalling their complex features. "Well," she continued, "you get to choose one of them to look in. You'll see what's in all of them eventually, but for now you can only open one at a time, since they contain more about my adventures than any other you could open. Think on that carefully, then come by and see me when you're ready with your first choice."

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**What do you think? Did you recognize which door represents which series? Now, the next couple of chapters are going to be interesting, cause you the readers get to decide which door the twins open! I've set up a poll on my profile so you can vote on the door, and you can voice your opinion in the reviews as well! If you liked this story, please show your support by telling me what you think! Can't wait to see which one you pick!**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Wrath of Melody Hakurei

**A/N: Hey again! Seeing how I don't think I have enough votes to make the response chapter, here's a breather one for you (plus it doubles as extra help in deciding)! You can all thank Pearl Hikari, she inspired me to make this chapter to give a little more food for thought! Enjoy!**

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The Charm Box: Chapter 3

Stall for Time! The Wrath of Melody Hakurei

A few days had passed since Melody had shown the Hikari twins the contents of the charm box, and the last thing she said to them when they went down to dinner still lingered in their minds. It had been pretty obvious at the time she was still holding back a lot of information from them, and if they wanted to learn more, they'd need to take matters into their own hands. Together they began to contemplate their choices, and people took notice in their change of actions, particularly at school.

"Man, Mariko-sensei loves to give us a lot of homework, doesn't she?" Dekao groaned one afternoon. School had just gotten out for the day.

"Well, it shouldn't take too long," Yaito began, but paused for a moment to formulate an insult. "Except maybe for _you_, seeing how you always fall asleep in class."

"Hey, at least I don't have a crystal ball for a head!" the boy shot back.

"What did you say?! You take that back!" the girl screeched.

'_Not again…'_ Meiru thought. Deciding to change the subject, she turned and asked "What about you, Netto? You're probably in the same boat, huh?"

"Huh? Oh, I already finished," the brunette replied.

Everyone in the group fell silent and stared at him. Okay, there had been several instances where he had actually done the assignments without even his Navi reminding him, but this early? Speaking of which…

"You're done?" Yaito asked in disbelief. "But how? Oh wait, let me guess, Rockman told you to get it done already?"

Netto shook his head. At the same time, Rockman came out, adding, "It was his choice. He actually told me first."

That earned a confused look from all the others, but the twins didn't seem to notice; their attention was focused at someone leaning against the school gate, waiting for them.

"Hey there you two." Melody said. "Ready to go?"

"You bet!" Netto said cheerily. Turning around, he said a hasty good-bye to his friends before following the girl out.

"Man, that chick…" Dekao muttered.

"Shh! Do you remember the _last time_ you got on her bad side?" Yaito hissed back.

"Oh yeah…I never knew you could use a frying pan as a weapon…"

Meiru, on the other hand, was rather concerned. "Be careful, Netto…I don't look know why, but I've got a terrible feeling about this…"

_~~...Three doors, three dimensions...~~_

"Wow, it was sure nice of Papa to let you out early, huh?" Netto asked as they headed downtown.

"Well, all I had to say was that you wanted to spend some time with me," Melody replied. "He's very understanding. So, where do you want to go?"

"The arcade!" Netto shouted, raising his fist up into the air.

"You got it, my friend! I must warn you though, I'm rather competitive, and some of your high scores won't last long…"

"Hah, I'd like to see you try!" the boy boasted as he ran inside the building. _'And while we're at it,' _he thought, _'I can get some more clues on what the doors mean…'_

_5 minutes later…_

"W-whoa…" a dumbfounded Netto stuttered.

"She took every last record you set and _destroyed _them…" Rockman added.

They weren't the only ones in shock. They were at one of the dance battle machines, and just before Melody had beaten every last game there was, especially the shoot-'em-ups. She had begun to draw a crowd at this one, dancing up a storm.

"Wow, look at her!" someone in the spectator group shouted.

"She's amazing!" another yelled.

_'She is,' _Netto thought, _'and she's really fast…'_

_ 'It's as if she's dodging mass quantities of buster shots and dodging every last one, some barely grazing her…' _Rockman continued.

"And now for the finisher!" Melody shouted. She took a step then catapulted herself into the air, doing a couple of aerial moves before landing again and striking a pose just as the song ended; the audience erupting into cheers. Breathless, she turned to face the brunette. "Well, how do you like them apples?" she asked.

Netto opened his mouth to reply, but a scream from the other side of the building cut him off.

"HELP!" the voice called frantically.

"What's wrong?!" the boy shouted as he ran toward the person, but on getting a clearer view he hit the brakes. "Higure-san?!"

"Sheesh, you do know that you sound like a girl when you scream, right?" Melody said as she walked up to the two.

"T-that's none of your business -demasu!" the chip shop owner shot back, flustered.

"Never mind that, why are you here, Higure-san?" Rockman asked.

"Well –demasu, I came here to test out a new shipment of rare chips to see if they worked –demasu, and then this caped guy showed up and asked me to Netbattle him…"

"And…?" Melody asked, the temperature of her tone lowering by a few degrees.

"…and well, I did, but when I lost, the guy took all of my chips and ran for it –demasu! Oh, the horror –demasu!" Higure groaned. "You gotta help me, Netto!"

"A little over-reactive, maybe," the brunette muttered, "but…" With that, he bolted out of the arcade, catching a glimpse of a flailing cape rounding the curb. "Hold it! Where do you think you're going?"

"Netto, wait!" Melody called out to him, but it was no use. Sighing, she ran out to the entrance, stopping at the edge of the street. Clasping the bracelet on her wrist, she began to think about what Higure has said, coming to a terrible conclusion.

_'Never thought I'd have to do this…but this guy's not going to play fair…'_

_~~...One dating back to ancient games and kings, One where fantasy runs wild, and One where technology is beyond its years...~~_

"Ugh…you'll never get away with this, you jerk!" Netto said while gritting his teeth. He was desperately trying to get onto his feet, but the pain from a kick to the stomach kept him down.

"Oh, I believe I already have," the crook said haughtily, pacing around the back alley. "Not everyone can get these chips so easily, and this one's the last shipment. I'll be the only one in town selling these, imagine the fortune I'll make…"

"But that's wrong! You can't do that!" the boy protested.

"Quiet, you!" the man hissed, grabbing Netto by his vest. "I can do whatever I want as long as I get what I want. Say…you look like you've got a few good chips on you… Fork them over, kid!"

"Never in a thousand years, creep!" Netto retorted.

"Netto-kun, what are you doing?!" Rockman cried frantically. "It's not worth it!"

"I don't care! I won't go down without a fight!" the boy shot back.

"Humph, what a brat…As you wish," the thief said, clenching his free hand into a fist. Netto closed his eyes and braced himself for the worse, Rockman shouting his name in horror.

"Hands off the Hikari. _Now._"

"Hmm? What do you want, pu-"the guy stopped mid-sentence, as he saw who he was addressing.

"Melody-chan!" the twins shouted in relief.

"You tried to hurt my friend. Now you shall suffer the consequences," the girl said icily, a concept that complemented and contrasted with the fiery glare in her eyes. Neither Hikari had ever seen her temper like this before.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, little lady? Tattle on me?" the crook sneered.

Melody smirked at the insult. "How about we play a game? I must warn you, however…this game is nothing like you ever played before…"

"Che, we'll see about that…alright, you're on missy!" the thief said. "Name your wager!"

"A game? Rockman, what is she thinking?" Netto whispered into his PET.

"I have no idea…" the Navi replied.

"If you win, you keep the stolen chips and I won't say anything. In fact," she said, holding out her bracelet, "you can take this as proof I'll keep my word. All of its either gold or silver in the metal, and it's worth plenty."

The man gawked at the small piece of jewelry in her hand, and then regained his composure. "…That's a high price, girly. And what about if you win?"

A dark grin appeared on Melody's face. "If I win," she said, "not only do I get the chips back, but I also get to_ decide your fate_."

"Fine then! You'd better be ready to lose to me, Trojan, the Netbattle thief!" he said, dropping Netto in the process. The girl ran over to help him up. "Can you stand?" she asked.

"Y-yeah…" the boy replied.

"This is dangerous, Melody-chan!' Rockman said in a panic. "You shouldn't do this!"

"Don't worry about me," she chided. "I'll be fine. Besides," she added as she turned to face the crook, "you still haven't made up your mind on what door you want to open, right? Well, consider this an all-in-one sneak peek."

"Are you done with your chit-chat yet? Let's start; I can see the money rollin' in already!" Trojan said haughtily.

"Heh, as you wish…" Melody replied as she pulled out her PET. "Come, it's time to play a game!"

"This girl must be nuts," the thief thought, "trying to beat me in a Netbattle…Oh well; she'll just have to learn the hard way!"  
Netto crouched behind a crate and waited to see what would happen, still worried about Melody's safety. He reassured himself that everything would be alright. She wasn't a person to be taken lightly, especially not now, not with that intense (and slightly maniacal) look on her face.

"You know the basic rules of this game. We can use any battle chips or tactics that we want, as long as they're appropriate," Melody explained. "First person to have their NetNavi log out loses."

"Fine with me," Trojan said, "but where do you expect us to plug-in, huh?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "Right here."

With that the thief burst into mocking laughter. "You've got to be kidding me! _There's nothing here and you still intend to fight?_"

"That's what you think…" Melody murmured as she got into stance. "Plug-in, Song. EXE, Transmission!"

To everyone's surprise, a pink and white Navi materialized onto the field. Long red ribbon still flailing, she summoned a long white halberd staff, a clear gem in the center of the top blade. With a sweet wink, she took her place next to her operator.

"Impossible!" Trojan said in shock.

_'He's right,'_ Rockman thought, _'she didn't plug-in to a Copybot, and there's no Dimensional Area above us!'_

_'How did she pull that off?' _Netto wondered.

"Didn't I tell you…? This is nothing like you've ever seen. In a Shadow Duel, it's perfectly normal for the impossible to become possible." Melody said calmly.

"I still don't understand how you did that little trick, but it doesn't matter! Prepare to lose!" the man said as he plugged-in his Navi. Like before, the HeelNavi materialized in front of them, looking quite intimidating. The expression on Melody's face remained the same, while Song smiled in amusement.

"Are you ready? Game…Start!"

"You're finished! Go, my Navi!" Trojan yelled. His Navi heeded the command and lunged in for the first strike.

"Song…" was all that Melody said.

"You got it!" her partner replied blocking the punch with her staff. She then back flipped away (kicking the opponent in the process) and slashed at him. "Sonic Boom!"

"Dodge it!" the thief yelled. "You're not bad…but not good enough! Battle Chip, Spreader! Slot-in!" A shot gun formed on the HeelNavi's arm, and after taking aim he fired.

"Heh, how basic…" Song said as she dodged every last bullet. "I'll show you real bullet shots…Now, Melody!"

Melody smirked, pulling out a strange looking battle-chip.

"What's that battle-chip in her hand, Rockman?" Netto asked.

"I don't know, Netto-kun… I've never seen anything like it…" was the reply.

"'Black Magic ~ Event Horizon'!" Melody shouted as she slammed the chip into her PET. Suddenly, energy bullets came out of nowhere, filling up the alley with colorful lights as they swarmed in on their target.

"AAGH! Hey, do something!" Trojan yelled to his Navi, to no avail. "Why won't you move out of the way?!"

"Fear has taken his grip…and it's not going to let go!" Melody said. "Finish him!"

"Grr… In that case, have a taste of my fist!" the thief said as he began charging toward the girl.

"Melody-chan, look out!" the twins shouted.

"Too late!" Trojan sneered. He came in to deliver the devastating blow, but all of the sudden his arm froze and he couldn't move it. "W-what the…? What's going on?!"

"Heh…I've got you right where I want you!" Song said. "Now, Melody!"

"Right! 'Heart of Dreams ~ Dimension Spark'!" Melody cried, slotting in another strange battle chip.

Song spun her staff around, creating some kind of a magic circle. Aiming the blade at the crook, she began to charge up energy until it reached massive proportions. With a single scream of "FIRE!" a giant beam of destruction burst out, flying toward Trojan's Navi. When the smoke cleared afterward, the victim was nowhere to be seen.

"T-this can't be…I lost…" the thief said, dumbfounded.

"And that's game…I'll leave this to you, Melody…" Song said as she disappeared back into the PET.

"Thanks…" the girl murmured. She walked over to Trojan, his arm still frozen and absolutely flabbergasted at what had just happened. "W-who are you? What kind of twisted game is this?"

"The Yami no Game is a test of one's character," Melody said in an eerily low voice. "For rule-breakers…it is destined to be a penalty game."

"Rockman…" Netto said in a scared voice.

"I know, Netto-kun, I know…" the older Hikari replied, trying to console his brother. Deep down thought, he was just as frightened. Both twins had never seen their friend like this before (although there were times where she got close), and both made the mental note not to provoke her temper ever again.

"Now you must honor the deal… Accept your defeat!" Melody continued.

"N-no…I refuse to believe this is happening! Take this!" Trojan yelled as he swung his free arm to strike the girl, with seemingly no chance of her to escape the blow. The twins shut their eyes and braced for the worst. Melody simply closed her eyes and muttered, "How pathetic…"

The thief's other arm froze in place, rendering him immobile. Surprised, he turned to shout in protest only to stare right into a pair of terrifyingly inhuman eyes, red and blue flames dancing in the irises. His insult got caught in his throat and came out as a gurgled sound.

_"The doors of darkness have opened…"_ Melody said with a distant echo. Rockman noticed that something was off about her voice; it was if it wasn't even hers anymore. It sounded like it belonged to two boys about the same age, one confident and dark, and the other high-pitched but determined. Needless to say, all were confused and terrified by the words she had spoken.

By now, her opponent had nearly lost it. He desperately tried to break free and run for it, but the spell held him firmly in place.

_"Time for you to atone for your mistakes!"_ Melody said as she stretched out her right arm. _"Penalty Game ~ Drowning by Egyptian Shadow!"_

All at once, the shadows in the alley came to life, forming into a single dark mass before engulfing the victim entirely. Trojan didn't even have a chance to scream. The twins didn't see anything else (they had closed their eyes again) but when they reopened them the man had disappeared without a trace. Even the alleyway they were in had returned to normal.

"Well, that's finished…he won't be gone for long, by the end of the day someone will find him without injury…I can't say the same for his mind or sanity, though." Melody walked over to where Netto had been hiding and helped him up with a kind smile. "It's alright you two," she said. "Everything's fine now." Her voice and eyes had gone back to their original state, as if nothing had happened.

"Melody-chan, what you did back there…" Netto said.

"What was it?" Rockman finished for him.

The girl turned and didn't quite meet their curious gaze. "…Let's just say I borrowed some strength from some of my old friends. I hope that gives you a little more to think about. Now, c'mon, we need to get these chips back to Higure-san. _Don't tell anyone what happened here._"

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**Wow...I think I spammed the Italics feature a bit too much...oh well! Hope you enjoyed it, and please vote for the door you want opened! This will signify which set of characters come first...and that's all that I'll say! Thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!**


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